The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on Thursday some issues arising out of the hearing before the Gujarat High Court in connection with the Naroda Patiya riot case of 2002 in which former minister Maya Kodnani was awarded life sentence by a trial court in Ahmedabad.
The apex court-appointed Special Investigating Team (SIT), which probed the riot cases, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu complaining that the High Court has been expeditiously hearing Kodnani's appeal when there are also appeals of co-convicts.
SIT, through senior advocate Harish Salve, who is assisting the apex court as amicu curiae in the riots cases, said that the High Court judge was not deciding its application for hearing all the appeals together.
One of the victims also filed an appeal against the refusal of a judge in the division bench to recuse from hearing the matter contending that the judge had recused himself from hearing a connected case.
The appeal, filed through advocate Aparna Bhat, alleged that the judge continues to hear Kodnani's appeal in haste prior to his retirement.
A special trial court had on August 30, 2012 awarded life imprisonment to Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 29 others for killings and hatching a criminal conspiracy.
There are around 100 appeals in the case, including those of the convicts and of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), besides those of the survivors who have sought enhancement of punishment of the convicts.
As many as 84 survivors of Naroda Patiya riot case had written a letter to the acting Chief Justice of the High Court to change the division bench headed by justice Ravi Tripathi.
